Control head for devices for filling bottles under counterpressure



G. STERN CONTROL HEAD FOR DEVICES FOR FILLING BOTTLES UNDERCOUNTERPRESSUREI Filed Feb. l, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet l flilralllllllwnk RNmm N wm m w n S U G 1 HIIIIIIIII ATTORNEYS G. STERN CONTROL HEAD FORDEVICES FOR FILLING BOTTLES UNDER COUNTERPRESSURE Filed Feb. l, 1946 5Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.

INVENTOR GUSVE STERN ATTORNEYS Aug. 5, 1952 G. STERN f CONTROL HEAO FORDEVICES EOE FILLING BOTTLES UNDER OOUNTERPRESSOEE 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 FiledFeb. l, 1946 F l G 5 INVENTOR GUSTAVE STERN ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 5,1952 UNITED STAT 1- AT-ENT oie-FICE aeoasio Gustave Stern, Paris, FranceApplicationvllebruary 1, 1946, Serial No. 644,915' VIn'Ilrance February20, 1945,

il` Claims. (Cl. 226-111) The, objectV of the present. invention is o,con-A trol head for devices for filling bottles or other like(containers, with gaseous or nongaseous liquids, under.counter-pressure, said head previously placing the bottlesA undercompressed air.

The'p'urpose of theinvention is essentially to increase the. automaticoperation of the device, therebyenablingthe rate of filling to loey confsiderably accelerated, thus increasing the emciency.

invention ensures the. satisfactory operation of the device when thepressure. of the supply of. compressedV air. is higher than the pressurein the n-lling tanlg which contains the liquid to be. drawn oli.Ovvingfto this fact, it permits the elimination of the complicated andcostly appa-k ratus intended to. ensure, the regularity of the airpressure.

Finally, tile invention relates to the provision of means iorfenablingthe level of the'liquid inside the bottles. t be, adjusted. accurately2li-Cl. et Will.

In order-V to facilitate explanation, reference will 'bei madehereinafter to the general characteristics of the control Vhead to whichthe infvention relate/s.`

Said, head, which is mounted in kno-wn manner @n ille bottom @l ille.liquid. tank, @reprises e press-ure chamber which is closed b y adiaphragm, and which is nlled with compressed air aiter the liftingmovement of the bottle has been einzel The? Qlapla @Orl-tml? themtQfluQtQn by gravity Yof th liquid into rsaid bottle?, as soon aspressure-@stal l0. that prevail-lille ln the air space v0l. ille-liquid.tank llas. beellleaclled 11.1 the pressure Chtlllbet The contr@devllle'lor the liquidvvalve 'which isI introduced Ito the neel:` of theb ottle, eiects, at the same time, the exhausting of the residual air,during the introduction of the liquid into the bottle.

The control of the compressed air is effected by the action of thebottle itself andv throughthe intermediary of a sleeve sliding on thelling tube.

The advantage is thus obtained, vrelatively to the other knownarrangements, of totally eliminating a mechanical operation ofstop-cocks and valves; the nlling being effected in an absolutelyautomatic manner. The correct sequence of operations-vizz placingunderpressure the filling and the exhausting of the air-are obtained merelyby the lifting movement of thebottle or other container to be filled.YThe filling level is kept absolutely constant, whatever the shape andthe cross-section of the neck o f the container may be.

- 2 kIn View o f the fact that the filling. is subordimated to theplacing of; thewbottlesudr pres,-` sure, "and that`v 'such' placing"under pres' 's`u re V'is controlled by the bottles themselves, thusfilling tiene einen@ fior "einen" or belen' bottles, and theqoperationis immediately stopped when a bottley brealggfitcommences onlyvvhn the`pressure in the bottle is equal to that which prevails in the liquidtank.'Y n this mannenthe liquid is effectively prevented fromV"frothi'r'ig'or frorn losing its, gas 'content'during' thefilling'operation. During the illing p'erftion, the liquid runs` alongthe vvall of bottle,A therebywp're venting the breakage of the bottlesowing 'to dlllererles of; temperature. Between fhelrivalls all@ the.liquid: M A l u l t Y The arrangement ls .Sllcll that the liquid cannever, rise-lilith@ lill? .lol xhallsflrlg'lhe 'rsiduel @lr emplearselllobsllllcllonthereof-' The liquidfand residual air tubes, being allSlralglll and. .readily removable Qrllllofsesy and quick. lealllle.

Ftrthermoie; no member dips irl the. liquid within the. bottle.- Owinglo this feel? there ifs. n@ lowering o; the squid ievei whenthe bottleis ferilli/.ell from .the device-g Finally. the, @lsve is. particularlyWell adapted to; Sterile nlliflgglqwillg, to. the' fact. that the, wmfpressed. all @all be replaced by Carbonio @Clit or by Sulllurdlolillltf` 'e feel which., fQ beer for exemlslels 0f great.aldi/anlasse- The. accompanying drawings 4'illustrate a. .Conf 15.101.het@ for 25311195. dlfie liSiIl glolls. llfldws, mjwmhz, .Y {.v. .A

Figure, 1 is a vertical longitudinal section; and shows the control headin the closed position. Figure? is a corresponding side vievtr.4 WY.Figure 3 is .similar See-lion thro. .ell the head in. the. Qpsll. 9.2filling posillon- .liellre l. 'is a, partial' velial longitudinalsecllQrljOl the lllwerlirl 0l lille devivlf Figure 5isaltransveresection through line.

Figure Vlijfis another transverse section through lmeVlL-,TVI @Figuretank, which is equipped in the known manner and vvhicl'is Yoliwagrgi tifcally represented by its base Rin'Fiuresl an is lined n lovv'erinember'dconie'ct-d toy a -ead member 2 @aid head membez'isrc Yrfied the hillclumps. k3. sind prima with a Valli/.t llellslle 4.2L which ,lfclls byAl"canili inside said housing is baufi'," which vcan be fie-flllmll d n,fl lust "l5 plates .llnllquslns inf communica: .'on with the hollowcolumn 3,- and column l sh rod 4.4 (s ee Fig. 1).`

places a housing 5, formed in the base member I, in communication withthe pressure chamber 6 in the head member 2, through the ducts 1 and 8.The pressure chamber 6 is closed, relatively to the air space of theliquid tank, by means of a diaphragm II which controls a rod I2 securedto the said diaphragm by means of the ring I3 and nut I4. To the rod I2is fixed a stirrup I5, on which is mounted the small residual airexhaust tube I6. Said tube carries at the lower end thereof centered bythe guide 50 (see Fig. 6), a liquid valve I1 (see Fig. 4) which opensdownwardly and which closes the filling tube I8 so long as the pressurein the air space of the liquid tank is greater than that in the pressurechamber 6. In such a case, the diaphragm I I is forced in an upwarddirection (see Figure 1).

A spider 23 (see Fig. 2), which is fixed to the head member 2, passesthrough the stirrup I5. Said spider carries adjusting screws 24 and 25which are locked by lock-nuts 26 and 21. In the head of the screw ismounted a rubber seat 28. The screws 24 and 25 are so adjusted that inthe closed position (Figure 1) the orifice of the residual air exhausttube is closed, whereas between the lower face of the rod I2 and theupper face of the adjusting screw 24 there remains a clearancecorresponding to the travel of the lower liquid valve I1.

In the filling position (Figure 3) on the other hand, the lower face ofthe rod I2 bears against the upper face of the adjusting screw 24; theresidual air exhaust tube I6 is moved away from the rubber seat 28 andis consequently open. In order to obtain an air-tight closure of thetube I6, the clearance provided between said tube and its seat v28should be slightly less than that existing between the rod I2 and theadjusting screw 24, so that the end of the tube I6 can penetrate intosaid rubber seat..

On the lling tube I8 a sleeve 29 is provided, which is extended upwardlyby a cone 30. Between the tube I8 and the sleeve 29 a sleeve 3| isadjustable by screwing on the thread formed on the internal part 2 9' ofthe sleeve 29. The sleeve 3I forms slides carrying at its lower end aninverted funnel-shaped member. Said sleeve is tightened by means of astuffing box 34. The sleeve 29 and the funnel-shaped member 3| areprovided with rubber annular joints 32 and 33.

In the base member I is mounted a. valve body 36 carrying the air inletnozzle 31. The body 36 contains a ball 39 which is loaded by a spring38. An actuating rod 40, which projects into the housing 5 of the basemember, effects the opening of the ball valve 39.l

Air-tight condition between the housing 5 and the valve body 36 isobtained by clamping the rod 40 on a diaphragm 35, by means of a ring 4Iand a spring 46. The compressedair issuing from the valve body 36reaches the column 3, through an orifice 41 (see Figures 1 and 3).

The method of operation is as follows:

When the bottle F is lifted `and centered by the conical member 32 Vitpushes the group of elements 29, 3| `and 38 upwardly and the cone entersthe housing 5.

Cone 30 engages the actuating rod 40 of Valve 39 and opens said valve.Upon opening valve 39 compressed air flows into the bottle F. The air inflowing from valve 39 to the bottle, passes through the orifice 41, thecolumn 3, duct 45, and about the valve 48 which is still lifted by thepush rod 44 because the chamber 6 being then at atmospheric pressure,the diaphragm is still bottle F as in the liquid reservoir, thediaphragm I I returns to its normal plane position as shown in Fig. 3which lowers the push rod 44. Ball 48 then drops onto its seat and stopsthe flow of compressed air. The downward movement of the stirrup I5 andthe residual air discharge tube I6 which are freely supported by thediaphragm I I, simultaneously opens the liquid control valve I1 at thelower end of tube I8, and the orifice at the upper end of the airdischarge tube I6 since the latter leaves the fixed rubber seat 28 whichserves as a closure member.

With the parts in this position the air in the f bottle can escapethrough the tube I6 as the liquid fiows into the bottle through tube I8about Valve I1 and flows down over the inside surface of the wall of thebottle. This fiow of the liquid into the bottle along the wall thereofavoids frothing and also avoids breakage since the temperature of thebottle is uniformly changed until the temperature of the bottle andliquid are in equilibrium. Usually the empty bottles are at the ambienttemperature and the liquid is colder.

The liquid flows into the bottle until the level therein reaches theorifice at the lower end of tube I6. The exhaust of the air from thebottle is then stopped, thereby stopping the continuation of the fiow ofliquid into said bottle.

When the bottlepmoves downwards, the air and liquid supply pipessimultaneously close; all dripping is thus avoided.

The upper face of the diaphragm II is then in communication with theatmosphere through 8, 4 and 1, and its lower face is subjected to thepressure prevailing in the tank. Owing to this fact, the said diaphragmreturns to the convex position as shown in Figure 1. in which positionthe ball 48 is again lifted. The cycle described is then repeated.

Accurate adjustment of the level of the liquid in the full bottles is asimple matter. For this purpose, the stuffing box 34 is loosened and thesleeve 29 is adjusted relatively to the member 3 I. The relativeposition of these two parts determines the amount of empty space whichwill remain in the neck of the bottles.

It will be understood that numerous modifications of detail in thedevice described and illustrated, are possible without departing fromthe scope of the invention.

This device, although mainly designed for bottling gaseous liquids, canequally well be used for bottling non-gaseous liquids (milk or wine, forexample). In thislatter application, the purpose of the counter-pressureis to prevent the filling of damaged bottles.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my saidinvention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare thatwhat I claim is:

l. In a control head for devices for filling bottles and other similarreceptacles with gaseous and non-gaseous liquids under counterpressurein which the bottles are filled with com-4 pressediair ybollore:receiving the lliquida .liquid reservoir, an upper `head memberina-said-reservoir foming .a pressure` Chamber, 'a diaphag-m. .clesing.said :chamber and #having 'its .outer- -face *exe posed' to thepressure of fair in said reservoirfduct means connecting fsaid pressurechamber with a bottle to be filled, a iiirst. valve Acontrolling thesupply of compressed air'to salid.chamber,mea-ns actuated by saiddiaphragm fiorl .controlling the opening and closing `of Asaid Valve to'control uthe filling of the .bottle'lwith .compressedfa'irya liquidfilling tube extending :from said reservoir :into the bottle, an v'air.evacuation .tube extending through the liquid .llingtube fior.evacuating'iair from the bottle, a second `valve controilihgfthe flow ofliquid through tlieliquid fillingmuberand actuated by the airV'evaciratio'n tube,.s'aid 4air evacuation tube `being connected to.said :diaphragm for axial displacement thereby to control -said secondvalve 'to Aopen the .same `upon closing the first valve, and a thirdvalve controlling the discharge of air from the bottle through theevacuation tube during filling of the bottle with liquid.

2. In a control head for devices for filling bottles and other similarreceptacles with gaseous and non-gaseous liquids underv coimterpressurein which the bottles are filled with compressed air before receiving theliquid, a liquid reservoir, an upper head member in said reservoirforming a pressure chamber, a diaphragm closing said chamber and havingits Aoutervface exposed to the pressure of al1` in said-reservoir, ductmeans connecting said pressure'bhamber with a bottle to be filled, afirstvalve controlling the supply 4. Ina control .head for-devices forfilling bottles and otherfsimiflar receptacles with-.gaseous ofcompressed air t0 said chamber, means actuated by said diaphragm forcontrolling the opening and closing of said valve to control the fillingof the bottle with compressed air, a liquid filling tube extending fromsaid reservoir into the bottle, an air evacuation tube extending throughthe liquid filling tube for evacuating air from the bottle, a secondValve on the lower end of the liquid filling tube and actuated by theair evacuation tube, `said air evacuation tube being connected to saiddiaphragm for axial displacement thereby to control said second Valve toopen the same upon closing the first valve, and a third valvecontrolling the discharge of air from the bottle through the evacuationtube during filling of the bottle with liquid formed of a iixed closurecooperating with the upper end of said evacuation tube.

3. In a control head for devices for iilling bottles and other similarreceptacles with gaseous and non-gaseous liquids under counterpressurein which the bottles are 'filled with compressed air before receivingthe liquid, a liquid reservoir, an upper head member in said reservoirforming a pressure chamber, a diaphragm closing said chamber and havingits outer face exposed to the pressure of air in said reservoir, ductmeans connecting said pressure chamber with a bottle to be filled, afirst valve controlling the supply of compressed air to said chamber,means actuated by said diaphragm for controlling the opening and closingof said valve to control the lling of the bottle with compressed air, aliquid filling tube extending from said reservoir into the bottle, anair evacuation tube extending through the liquid filling tube forevacuating air from the bottle, a second valve controlling the flow ofliquid through the liquid lling tube and actuated by the air evacuationtube, said air evacuation tube being connected to said diaphragm foraxial and anon-gaseous v liquids under; -counterpressure in which'the-bottlesv-are filled withcompressed auf .before receivingAtheliqiiid.s liquid reservoir,- an upper headmemberin-said lreservoirforming a pressure, chamber,.ya diaphragm closing said chamberand'having its cuter faceexpcsed to the pressure Oiizairfinsaidreservoir, -duct means connecting said pressure .chambergwith afbottlefto be filled, a first yValve controlling thesupply-oi compressed;air-to.said chamber, means .actuated by said diaphragm .for vcontrollg--theyopem'ng and closing =of -said valve to tco rol the nlllingfof thecome with complessesE uquiunuing tube extend-ing fromsaidreserigeirfmtoytlie bottle, an air kevacuationftube.T extending through-th'e liquid mung mbeA ,forger/aangemeten, dem the bottle, asecond-valve controllingthelfiow fof liquid through the"liquidfillingtube` nd actu# ated by the air evacuationtube sa `l1revacuation tube being connected to said diaphragm for axial displacementtherebyto 1.controlsaid'second valve toppen =the zsame uponclosinglthefirst valve, -athird Valve controlling the discharge of air from thebottle through the evacuation tube during filling of the bottle withliquid, a lower head mounted on the exterior of the reservoir, a

fourth Valve in the lower head controlling the supply of compressed airto said pressure chamber, means actuated upon elevation of a bottle tofilling position to control the operation of said fourth Valve, and asecond diaphragm separating the. fourth valve from the bottle to preventthe escape of air passing to the upper head.

5. In a control head for devices for filling bottles and other similarreceptacles with gaseous and non-gaseous liquids under counterpressurein which the bottles are lled with compressed air before receiving theliquid,- a liquid reservoir, an upper head member in said reservoirforming a pressure chamber, a diaphragm closing said chamber and havingits outer face exposed to the pressure of air in said reservoir, ductmeans connecting said pressure chamber with a bottle to be filled, afirst Valve controlling theV supply of compressed air to said chamber,means actuated by said diaphragm for controlling the opening and closingof said valve to control the filling of the bottle with compressed air,a liquid filling tube extending from said reservoir into the bottle, anair evacuation tube extending through the liquid filling tube forevacuating air from the bottle, a second valve controlling the flow ofliquid through the liquid filling tube and actuated by the airevacuation tube, said air evacuation tube being connected to saiddiaphragm for axial displacement thereby to control said secondr valveto open the same upon closing the first valve, a third valve controllingthe discharge of airl from the bottle through the evacuation tube duringfilling of the bottle with liquid, a lower head mounted on the exteriorof the reservoir beneath the upper head, a compartment in the lowerhead, a hollow column V,anomala connecting the compartment in the lowerhead through the first valve with upper head, a fourth valve inthe lowerhead controlling the supply of compressed air to said compartment, meansactuated upon elevation of a bottle to filling position to control theoperation of said fourth valve, a second diaphragm separating the fourthvalve and compartment from the bottle, and a second hollow columnconnecting the chamber in the upper head with the lower head and thencewith the bottle.

6. In a control head fordevices for filling bottles and other similarreceptacles with gaseous and non-gaseous'liquids under counterpressurein which the bottles are filled with compressed air before receiving theliquid, a liquid reservoir, an upper head member in said reservoirforming a pressure chamber, adiaphragm closing said chamber and havingits outer face exposed to the pressure of air in said reservoir, ductmeans connecting said pressure chamber with al bottle to be filled, afirst valve controlling the supply of compressed air to said chamber,means actuated by said diaphrag'mfor controlling the opening and closingof said valve 'to vcontrol the filling of the bottle with compressedair, a liquid fillingv tube extending from said,reservoirl into thebottle, an air evacuation' tub'eeirte'nding through the liquid fillingtube for"'evacuatingfair from the bottle, a second valve controlling theflow of liquid through thelli'q'uid filling tube and actuated bythe'airevacuation tube, said airv evacuation tube being connected tosaid diaphragm for axial displacement thereby to control said secondvalve to open the same upon closing the Y first valve, a third valveControlling thedischarge of air from the bottle through the evacuationtube during filling of the bottle with liquid, a lower head mounted onthe exterior of the reser- Voir beneath the upper head, a compartment inthe lower head, a hollow column connecting the compartment in the lowerhead through the first valve with the upper head, a fourth valve in thelower head controlling the supply of compressed air to said compartment,means actuated upon elevation of a bottle to filling position to controlthe operation of said fourth valve, a second diaphragm separating thefourth valve and compartment from the bottle, a second hollow columnconnecting the chamber in the upper head with the lower head and thencewith the bottle, a sleeve slidably mounted on the liquid lling tube withplay between the same to form an air passage, means on the lower end ofthe sleeve for connection with the mouth of a bottle, means on the upperend of the sleeve to form a connection with the lower head, and meanscarried by the upper portion of said sleeve to actuate the fourth valve.

` GUSTAVE STERN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 13,197 Strasburger Jan. 17,1911 948,463 Strasburger Feb. 8, 1910 1,779,739 Kantor Oct. 28, 19301,985,767 De Markus Dec. 25, 1934 2,118,436 Kantor May 24, 19382,186,526 Greiner Jan. 9, 1940 2,239,364 Kantor Apr. 22, 1941

